Steep Grade Sign: Meaning and What to Do
The yellow diamond showing a truck on a downhill slope with a percentage beneath it warns of a steep descent ahead and tells you how steep. The design shown reads 8%; the figure on a real sign is the grade of that hill, meaning the road drops that many feet for every hundred feet of travel.
Steep Grade Sign
On a long steep grade, brakes that are used continuously overheat and fade until they stop working. The sign is aimed first at trucks and buses, which must select a low gear before the descent, but any vehicle, including a car with an automatic transmission, benefits from the same technique.
What to do when you see the steep grade sign
Before the descent, slow down and shift to a lower gear so the engine holds your speed. Use the brakes in firm, brief applications rather than riding them. Check your mirrors for trucks that may be coming down faster than they should, and never stop or park on the grade where a runaway vehicle would need the road.
The signs it is confused with
Tests pair it with the plain Hill sign, which has no percentage, and with Runaway Truck Ramp signs that mark the escape lane on grades like this. The percentage is what makes this the steep-grade version; the response is the same either way.
Signs are one topic of ten on every test
Every state practice test covers signs, signals, and markings among its ten topics, with every answer explained. Pick your state and see how its exam asks about signs like this one; it is free, with no sign-up.
Choose your stateQuestions about the steep grade sign
What does the steep grade sign mean?
A steep downhill stretch is ahead, and the percentage tells you how steep. Shift to a lower gear before the descent and do not ride the brakes.
What does the percentage mean?
The drop in feet for every hundred feet of road. The sign's figure describes that hill; it is not a speed and not a rule.
Why should I downshift in an automatic car?
A lower gear lets the engine slow the car so the brakes stay cool. Brakes used continuously on a long grade can overheat and fade.
What should I watch for on a steep grade?
Trucks behind you that may be descending too fast, runaway truck ramps you must never block, and your own speed creeping up between brake applications.
How does this sign appear on the written test?
In mountain-driving questions about gear selection and brake use, and as a recognition question in the warning-sign section.